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More than a year ago, Activision revealed that the companywas interested in branching its Guitar Hero franchise onto platforms such asthe Nintendo DS. It's been a long wait, but the company has finally revealedexclusively to IGN and Yahoo the Guitar Hero game that will soon hit thedual-screen handheld later this year.
IGN Exclusive wrote:
The Nintendo DS version -- Guitar Hero: OnTour -- is in development at Vicarious Visions, the team best known for theTony Hawk and Spider-Man series on the dual-screen handheld, as well as theNintendo Wii conversion of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock released late lastyear. This portable version will feature the same rhythm-based "play tothe music" gameplay of the big boys, and will even have its own peripheralto get the job done: Red Octane has developed what it's calling the Guitar Gripto give players the ability to finger chords in similar fashion as the consoleversion's guitar peripheral.
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The Guitar Grip will plug into the Game Boy Advance slot atthe bottom of the Nintendo DS system. Players put their hand through the strapof the Guitar Grip for a firm hold on the system, and then position the systemin its vertical book form. The peripheral has a storage area for a speciallydesigned stlyus pick, which is used to strum the guitar strings on thetouch-screen. As the notes slide down the screen, players strum the stringswhile pressing the corresponding fret buttons, all to the rhythm of the songthat's being played. According to the video released by Activision, themicrophone comes into play during songs -- we're guessing it'll be used ascontrol to activate Guitar Hero's "Star Power" mode to increase thepoints multiplier.
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The idea for the peripheral came during the prototypingphase of getting Guitar Hero working on the Nintendo DS. "We beganprototyping ideas for Guitar Hero on DS in early 2007," said Karthik Bala,CEO of Vicarious Visions. "We quite frankly didn't know whether it wouldbe possible to bring the core essence of the franchise to handheld and have itactually work. It was 20-something gameplay prototypes that were built, alltrying different mechanics and uses of the hardware. Some were pretty cool,others were total disasters!
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"At some point, we hit upon the idea of creating a peripheral that wouldhave the fret buttons plugging into the GBA slot of the DS," he recalled."We ripped apart an old GBA cartridge and did some electronics work on itto rig up a prototype device. As awkward and crude as that prototype was,that's when we knew we were onto something. We figured that attaching afull-size guitar or even a mini-guitar would be too awkward to play on theroad, hence the design of the more compact Guitar Grip, which gives you thetactile sense of the fret buttons, with the touch screen depicting the stringsof the guitar."
Activision's hasn't released all details regarding Guitar Hero: On Tour, but wedo know that the Nintendo DS version will feature similar single player CareerMode progression as the console game. On Tour will contain a line-up of morethan 20 licensed songs from bands as Nirvana, OK Go, and No Doubt; Activisionwill most certainly reveal the full list of bands and songs as we get closer tothe game's summer release date. Players will be able to pick from six differentguitarists to represent them in-game -- while four guitarists have been inGuitar Hero before, two of the characters have been designed exclusively forthe Nintendo DS game. As they get through career mode, they'll unlock venues aswell as outfits to deck out their chosen persona.
Along with the single player campaign, Guitar Hero: On Tour will also supportmultiplayer. The game will feature both co-op as well as competitive two playeroptions using the local wireless functions of the Nintendo DS system. Thegame's battle mode will feature similar gameplay as the mode created in GuitarHero III, with power-ups created specifically for Guitar Hero: On Tour. Forexample, players can activate power-ups that'll send raving fans to the otherscreen, and the opponent will have to sign autographs on the touchscreen to getrid of them. Or out-of-control pyrotechnics will be set ablaze, and playerswill have to blow them out using the Nintendo DS microphone.
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Activision has yet to announce a price-point or a releasedate, but the company did reveal that it's shooting to ship Guitar Hero: OnTour this summer. While console games have been branded with ESRB's T for Teenrating mostly due to song lyrics, Guitar Hero: On Tour will be rated E10.
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